Problems
Over 50,000+ new restaurants open a year, yet 80% of those fail in the first 5 years with 60% failing in the first year.
Restaurants take around 6 months to open with most owners running out of savings halfway through.
63% new owners have a food industry background yet only a fraction have any business experience.
Proposed Solution
The ideal solution is to have one app to help new restaurant owners facilitate the entire process of opening a restaurant to increase success rates, decrease time to open, and fill in knowledge gaps.
Research & Planning
Conducted market research to identify existing scheduling challenges and user preferences. Defined target audience segments and outlined key features based on user needs and market trends.
Design & Prototyping
Collaborated with designers to create intuitive user interfaces and interactive prototypes. Iteratively refined designs based on user feedback to enhance usability and visual appeal.
Development & Implementation
Leveraged agile development methodologies to build the scheduling app from the ground up. Prioritized feature development based on user feedback and technical feasibility. Implemented AI algorithms to analyze user behavior and optimize scheduling recommendations.
Testing & Optimization
Conducted rigorous testing across various devices and platforms to ensure compatibility and performance. Gathered user feedback through beta testing and iteratively optimized the app based on usability metrics and user satisfaction.
Market Research
It is important to get a big picture of the market by starting with market research - to get a sense of what we know and don't know yet, who the audience are, as well as what the recent trends or news are. The insights gathered from market research will help me frame provisional personas and ask meaningful questions in primary research.
Competitive Analysis
My research first centered around the competition landscape. By capitalizing on competitors' weaknesses and acknowledging their strengths, Sizzle can find its unique competitive advantage. Over 5 user interviews were conducted that helped understand their unique pain points and what they’re hoping to resolve. There were no direct competitors but dozens of indirect competitors. To filter down, I assumed key features and arrived at 3 main competitors that each do something a little different.
Restaurant Industry & Existing Solutions
Overall: the restaurant industry has remained steady since the first so-called restaurant in 1765. That said, the technology hasn’t evolved with industry.
Over the years, the restaurant industry has proven to be a massive market with new restaurant openings up 40% since 2019 (Axios).
However, the market isn’t always kinds with unforeseen challenges when it comes to opening a restaurant. There is currently no one single solution on the market that guides new restaurant owners through the process from conception to grand opening.
Demographics
Overall: People of all incomes and ages have dreams of starting their own restaurant; from ex-Wall Street investors to your local waiter at the diner down the road.
Men tend to be opening more restaurant compared to women (54% to 46%) with the average age being around 39 years old.
Where you start to see a big shift is in race with Caucasian making up 55% of the market with the next biggest group being Hispanics at 18% (Zippia).
Competitors
No product exists that fully competed with Sizzle. Most products that do exist are point solutions that only solve a single issue rather than the entire problem.
User Interviews
Building on a general understanding of the market and the audience, I continued to dive deeper and build a real connection with our users, to gain direct insights on them by primary research.
I created an interview guide to facilitate the user interview process, with 10 open-ended questions listed to invite the participants to share their experiences and stories.
In total, 5 participants were interviewed about their experience opening restaurants.
Key Motivations
Superficially it might seem that everyone is interested in the same thing: Saving time… but upon closer inspection, user research made it clear that there were divergent motivations.
One interviewee, 30 male, didn't care about saving time as much as it was money deduction in any area; permit fees, finding the right vendors, and seeking legal help.
Another interviewee, 55 female, who opened a fine dining restaurant back in 2018 and didn't care about saving money. As she put it, "I only have a couple decades left to launch my dream. I didn't want to waste anytime in achieving that."
How Might We & POV
To define the problem I am going to solve, I create Point-of-View (POV) Statements that allow me to ideate in a goal-oriented manner, and How-Might-We (HMW) Questions to frame the ideation in the brainstorm session for solutions. The statements and questions are generated based on the insights and needs I gathered in my synthesis.
Final Peersona
Creating personas helped bring clarity to those divergences, which became important reference points as functions developed.
As I continued to conduct research and proceeded with design, I focused primarily on one persona because they represented the power user and a heavy emphasis of key functions: filling in knowledge gaps, facilitating the process of funding and permits, and the need to only use one platform.
Sitemap
After setting up the product goals and deciding what features to include, I wanted to continue building up the structure of Sizzle using a site map, which helped me to visualize the relationship between the content and examine the hierarchy.
User Flows
I mapped user flows whose scenarios correspond to the established tasks. This process helps me walk in an individual user's shoes, and think through different scenarios that this user might encounter. Below is the user flow for Mark when he wants to create a new project. A link to all user flows can be found here.
Low-Fi
Low-fi prototypes were created to understand what’s going resonate and empower users. This step allowed me to garner valuable user feedback, initiate the design direction is correct, and make sure time is well spent. This ensured the final design would be more polished and user-centric.
UI Kit
The UI Kit is a compilation of existing UI elements on the website that provides references for future design and collaboration for the design team. It is also a living document and will be updated whenever there is an iteration of the design. Below is a part of the Sizzle UI Kit.
The Test
I conducted remote usability testing with 5 participants, and created transcripts for each participant based on my observation of their interaction with the prototype. I jotted down their mistakes, slips, and confusions they expressed in the process. This transcript is a perfect raw material for summarizing the patterns of user’s interaction with the prototype.
Surfacing New Issues
The high-fidelity prototype brought test users closest to the real experience yet, and it revealed some key issues that needed to be addressed. While some users were able to complete the flows, UX heuristics needed to be improved. Adding progress bars to help users understand their place and simplified colors and icons.
Other issues included unclear button placement when selecting a restaurant location and confusion language when developing a business plan.
Testers were also able to verbalize a need they haven’t thought about before this iteration: Could the app also allow me to apply for permits and licenses directly rather than managing that separately through local government websites.
Visual Design
Using data from my research participants, I needed to figure out how to incorporate needed data and a visually appealing and meaningful way. One example is where users are selecting their property, they are able to see a graph of the growth potential, marked with the Sizzle brand. Another example is with the interactive progress bar. This gamified the process, giving the user a great sense of achievement when a step was completed.
Final Prototype
The final prototype allowed users to experience guiding themselves from restaurant conception to grand opening - all in one place.
Key Takeaways
I went into this project assuming that Sizzle would only provide new restaurant owners with a guide for a few key steps in the opening process. I learned quickly however how "sticky" and content heavy this app will become - from restaurant conception to grand opening.
My original intent for Sizzle was to be a guide or a reference point for new restaurant owners to use, but the would need to go external to complete steps like financing, permits, and marketing. However, through user testing, owners found that Sizzle would be more useful through integrations and features that allowed them to stay within Sizzle through the whole process.
Next Steps
Since the design has been tested and revised, it is ready to enter the development phase. In order to effectively communicate the design to developers, I redlined and organized my design deliverables using Figma for handoff, and prepared to assist with any follow-up questions.